New agreement follows strikes at JDE Netherlands

Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) workers in the Netherlands and their union FNV have a new collective bargaining agreement following two effective 24-hour strikes in Joure and Utrecht on November 19 and November 22.

The new agreement provides for a 5.8% wage increase over the course of two years and two months -- above the national average increase negotiated in Dutch collective bargaining agreements in 2018. Following the two strikes, JDE dropped its initial proposal to create a 2-tier wage system which would have paid new workers substantially less than those hired earlier.

Members of the German food workers union NGG joined the Utrecht strikers in a show of international solidarity. NGG members also struck at 7 JDE locations in Germany on November 22 over an ongoing dispute over collective bargaining rights at the company's administrative offices in Bremen.

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The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) is an international federation of trade unions representing workers employed in agriculture and plantations; the preparation and manufacture of food and beverages; hotels, restaurants and catering services; all stages of tobacco processing. The IUF is composed of 423 affiliated trade unions in 128 countries representing over 10 million workers.